The officer admitted to using a state computer database to retrieve photos of patients and co-workers. / USA TODAY file photo

by Clark Kauffman, The Des Moines Register

by Clark Kauffman, The Des Moines Register

DES MOINES, Iowa -- An Iowa corrections officer in has been fired for using his work computer to create hundreds of allegedly demeaning photos of patients and co-workers in a state-run psychiatric hospital.

John Powers, 29, of North Liberty was fired by the Iowa Department of Corrections in late September after admitting that he used a state computer database to retrieve photos of patients and co-workers at the Oakdale Medical Classification Center's Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, where he worked for seven years.

Powers admitted that for years he used his computer to place images of the individuals' heads on the bodies of celebrities, babies and animals and to email the final, doctored images to his colleagues.

One of his final works was a parody of a "Star Wars" poster onto

which he had placed the faces of various patients. In the doctored photo, the name of the movie was "Tard Wars," based on a derogatory term used to describe individuals diagnosed with mental retardation.

Shortly thereafter, Powers was told of a patient's complaint against him, and he sent his fellow state workers an email announcing his "retirement" from photo doctoring:

"Did you get my final masterpiece? Cleaned out my pictures after that one. I'm hanging it up, getting out of the rat race. I'm out of the herd. Time to grow up and be a man. Love, Powers."

When interviewed by state investigators, Powers admitted using his work computer to visit websites with adult-themed content and photos of scantily clad women.

Powers told the investigators his photo work had become so popular in the hospital that it got out of hand.

"It snowballed," he said, citing the written requests he received from colleagues to produce specific photos for their amusement. "It got way beyond what I ever intended."

Powers, who was paid $49,000 last year as a corrections officer, told investigators that despite the demand for his services, he didn't spend "hours on end" creating the images. "I spent a big part of my day either playing Wii or playing cards," he said, referring to the activities he engaged in with patients.

Asked by investigators why he created the images, Powers replied, "I'm a laid-back guy. â?¦ And it was all done in humor."

In a written appeal to his superiors, Powers asked that he be allowed to keep his job so he could focus on his work duties.

"I am at a point in my career where I have reached a fork in the road," he wrote. "Do I want to continue to under-achieve and get by making people laugh, or do I want to finally live up to my potential and become a valuable piece to a great team?"

Powers was fired two weeks later.

He later sought unemployment benefits, which led to a public hearing where his emails, doctored photos, record of Internet activity and a transcript of his interview with state investigators were submitted as exhibits.

At the hearing, state investigator Vicki Garrett testified that she searched Powers' computer and discovered that he had created "hundreds and hundreds" of photos of staffers, psychiatric patients and inmates.

"Other staff have been terminated after this investigation into Mr. Powers," Garrett testified. "Some staff have resigned in lieu of termination."

Corrections officials were unable to say Thursday how many workers, in addition to Powers, were fired or resigned. They said they were seeking legal guidance about releasing the information.

Mary Stroud, director of the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, testified that Powers placed a photo of one patient's face onto the body of an obese person holding a beer can.

"These patients are civilly committed," Stroud testified. "These patients don't have the capacity to consent to that sort of thing. They are under our care and supervision, and we can't join in on things that are poking fun at them."

Powers testified that patients loved the photos he created of them.

"It only takes 10 minutes, max, to throw a picture together," he testified. "I did make some pictures using patient images, but never with ill intent."

He said two of his superiors were aware of his on-duty photo work, and hadn't objected to the practice. State records indicate Powers was previously given a verbal reprimand for using a water bottle to squirt water into the face of a patient.

Administrative Law Judge Debra Wise ruled that Powers' photos did not rise to the level of misconduct because at least one of his supervisors was aware of them and hadn't told Powers to stop making them.

But with regard to the adult-themed websites, Wise ruled that Powers knowingly violated the state's computer-use policy, which amounted to workplace misconduct. On that basis, she denied his request for unemployment benefits.